CNA-Authored 38th Annual Report on Military Demographics Released

Alexandria, Va. – Today, CNA announced that the 38th annual Population Representation in the Military Services Fiscal Year 2010 report is now available online (http://prhome.defense.gov/RFM/MPP/ACCESSION%20POLICY/PopRep2010/index.html)

This study, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness and prepared by CNA, presents a summary report and extensive tables on FY 2010 applicants, accessions, enlisted personnel, and officers for each of the Department of Defense (DoD) services and the U.S. Coast Guard, along with summary tables documenting historical trends. The summary report also documents trends in demographic characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, and education for both the active and reserve components in each of the services.

According to the report’s findings, in FY 2010:

• DoD service members totaled more than 1.4 million active-duty personnel and 850,000 reservists, while the U.S. Coast Guard had almost 41,300 active-duty personnel and 7,900 reservists.

• Overall, the FY 2010 military population was more diverse in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity than in FY 2009.

• The quality of enlisted accessions also grew for all of the services, with the Coast Guard having the highest percentage of high-quality accessions (those who score in the top half of the AFQT distribution and have Tier 1 education credentials), followed by the Air Force.

Each year, Congress requires that the Department of Defense produce a report that describes the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of people serving in the military. In light of CNA’s extensive experience with military personnel data and in preparing previous years’ reports, CNA was asked to produce the FY 2010 Population Representation in the Military Services.